Giulia (Type 105) 1962-1993

Specification:

The S4 Spider, as it became known, was launched in 1990 being the fourth edition in the evolution of the Giulia Spider from the introduction of the S1 ‘Duetto’ in 1966.

The engine is a 4 cylinder Twin Cam, 2.0 litre (1962cc) with Bosch Motronic fuel injection and electronic ignition, which was, at the time, a new innovation for the Spider. It develops 120bhp with the catalyst as fitted to UK cars. Non-cat cars developed 126bhp. It also has variable inlet valve timing. The 0-62 time was quoted as 9.4 second (9 seconds for the non-cat) with a top speed of 119mph.

5 speed gearbox, rear wheel drive with a limited slip differential.

The UK S4 came with; PAS, leather steering wheel, electric windows and door mirrors, alloy wheels and a colour coded hard-top.

It was available in white, red, black, silver and metallic red with tan vinyl (Texalfa as it was called!) and alcantara seats. Leather seats were an optional extra and it is rather annoying when you see ads proclaiming that the car for sale has leather seats when they are clearly vinyl! Leather is quite rare on an S4. Believe it or not, a radio/cassette was an optional extra, although, in reality, most UK cars were supplied with one at the dealer. Mine was fitted with a Clarion for the sum of £143,48!

My car was bought by the first owner for £16,145 with a £1,270 discount so I’m presuming the list price was around £17,400.

The S4 was launched in 1990 and was available in the UK for the first time since the 1970s when the S2 version was in production The S3 was never officially available in the UK through authorised Alfa Dealers but some garages were importing from, typically, France and Belgium and converting to RHD. The most well-known was a dealer called Bell & Colvill.

Although the S4 was officially for sale in the UK, it was not converted to RHD in the factory so was only available in LHD form in the showroom. However, it was possible to request a RHD version and Alfa UK would duly oblige by converting at a company called Seaking, These cars came with a plaque in the door-shut and were still covered by the manufacturer warranty as they were official conversions. I seem to recall that this conversion came at an additional cost of circa £2,500.   

Mine is a 1991 model. I original bought the car in 2005 from the previous owner who had owned it from new and is LHD. The first owner was perfectly happy with LHD as the family had a cottage in France and made frequent trips over there.

I kept the S4 for 12 years, selling in 2017. I then bought it back from the owner I sold it to in 2022 and it came back in exactly the same condition with just an additional 1,500 miles on the clock. I don’t intend to sell it again though!

The S4 has a varied service history with the first owner having it serviced at dealers at the required intervals. When I first took ownership I serviced it myself each year and carried out other essential maintenance such as brake pads, shock absorbers etc as it is a relatively easy car to work on. I also used Roger Evans at Peak Alfa for tasks that I did not want to take on. The owner I sold it to had it serviced at Alfaworkshop each year even though the mileage was low. Now I have it back I will continue to carry out general servicing myself as I do enjoy working on it. Since coming back it’s had a new radiator temperature sensor, a thermostat and a throttle position sensor (to solve erratic idling).  

The biggest issue I once had was a non-starter, I had tried everything to trace the fault, including all ignition and fuel checks with no luck. I came across an S4 expert in Germany on an Alfa forum and he suggested the relay which operates the ECU. This relay is unusual in that it contains a diode to prevent unwanted electrical feedback into the ECU which can cause damage. He was kind enough to send me a spare he had for me to try on the understanding that I would send it back. I put the relay in and yes, he was correct; it fired up first time! I sent the relay back and had to find a replacement.

Fortunately a long standing Alfa dealer in the UK had two in stock and I took both. The OEM Bosch relay is no longer in production and is  virtually impossible to find, however, I have found that a relay fitted to a Land Rover, part number AFU2913L is the same type of relay and works a treat.

Since owing the S4, apart from usual maintenance and replacement of ‘service’ parts, I have carried out the following:

New Koni Shocks all round

New, improved, rear springs for a better ride

Momo leather/wood steering wheel

Momo wooden gear knob

Upgraded Sony sound system with rear speakers

Wind stop/deflector

Custom made stainless steel exhaust system

Emergency bonnet and boot release system

Cat legally removed to release the extra 6 horses!

All the bodywork is original and it has had no new paint. As is the interior and the seats in particular are original with none of the usual wear to the alcantara.

My wife and I have driven to the Italian lakes and Tuscany 4 times with smooth and incident free journeys. On one trip we returned 39mpg which is astonishing as I wasn’t particularly taking it easy!

The only thing I would say is that these trips were in Spring time as the temperature is perfect in the S4 with the top down, but I would not fancy it in the height of summer having no air con!

The engine is a 4 cylinder Twin Cam, 2.0 litre (1962cc) with Bosch Motronic fuel injection and electronic ignition.

The interior came in tan vinyl (texalfa) on UK models with matching carpets, although black was an option in some counties and these do pop up in the UK. Leather seats were an option in the UK. The steering wheel and gear knob on mine, pictured here, are non-standard.

The ‘B’ pillar internal trim fittings which contain the handles for the fuel filler cap and the boot are quite flimsy and can fall apart as mine did, but replacements are available from ‘Classic Alfa’ or ‘Alfaholics’ and are made from a very sturdy metal covered in vinyl.

Back in 2011, my S4 was chosen to be featured in Auto Italia magazine as part of a test between the 915 and 939 Spiders. This took place at Bruntingthorpe airfield near Lutterworth in Leicestershire.   

This is my S4 posing in the snow on the Gotthard pass on the way to Italy. Despite the snow the hood was down and it was warm enough for shorts and T shirt!  

I know it wasn’t built at Arese, but I understand the engine and chassis probably was before being shipped over to Pininfarina for final assembly, but I could not resist a visit, before it was demolished to make way for a shopping mall.